February 5, 2025

Supersonic planes are inching toward takeoff. That could be a problem.

Boom Supersonic broke the sound barrier in a test flight of its XB-1 jet last week, marking an early step in a potential return for supersonic commercial flight. The small aircraft reached a top speed of Mach 1.122 (roughly 750 miles per hour) in a flight over southern California and exceeded the speed of sound…

Technology

OpenAI says ChatGPT treats us all the same (most of the time)

October 15, 2024
Does ChatGPT treat you the same whether you’re a Laurie, Luke, or Lashonda? Almost, but not quite. OpenAI has analyzed millions of conversations with its hit chatbot and found that ChatGPT will produce a harmful gender or racial stereotype based on a user’s name in around one in 1000 responses on average, and as many…

The Download: protecting farmworkers from heat, and AI’s Nobel Prize

October 15, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The quest to protect farmworkers from extreme heat On July 21, 2024, temperatures soared in many parts of the world, breaking the record for the hottest day ever recorded on the planet. The…

 A data bottleneck is holding AI science  back, says new Nobel winner

October 15, 2024
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. David Baker is sleep-deprived but happy. He’s just won the Nobel prize, after all.  The call from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences woke him in the middle of the night.…

The quest to protect farmworkers from extreme heat

October 15, 2024
On July 21, 2024, temperatures soared in many parts of the world, breaking the record for the hottest day ever recorded on the planet. The following day—July 22—the record was broken again. But even as the heat index rises each summer, the people working outdoors to pick fruits, vegetables, and flowers for American tables keep…

Data strategies for AI leaders

October 14, 2024
Organizations are starting the heavy lifting to get real business value from generative AI. As Arnab Chakraborty, chief responsible AI officer at Accenture, puts it, “2023 was the year when clients were amazed with generative AI and the possibilities. In 2024, we are starting to see scaled implementations of responsible generative AI programs.” Some generative…

The Download: growing Africa’s food, and deleting your 23andMe data

October 14, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past After falling steadily for decades, the prevalence of global hunger is now on the rise—nowhere more so than in sub-Saharan Africa. Conflicts,…

How to… delete your 23andMe data

October 14, 2024
MIT Technology Review’s How To series helps you get things done.  Things aren’t looking good for 23andMe. The consumer DNA testing company recently parted ways with all its board members but CEO Anne Wojcicki over her plans to take the company private. It’s also still dealing with the fallout of a major security breach last October, which…

Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past

October 14, 2024
The first time the rains failed, the farmers of Kanaani were prepared for it. It was April of 2021, and as climate change had made the weather increasingly erratic, families in the eastern Kenyan village had grown used to saving food from previous harvests. But as another wet season passed with barely any rain, and…

The Download: direct-air-capture plants, and measuring body fat

October 11, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. These are the best ways to measure your body fat —Jessica Hamzelou We all know that being overweight is not great for your health—it’s linked to metabolic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular problems.…